Royal Bank and U.S. Bancorp Join Forces on Charge Card Program

Royal Bank and U.S. Bancorp, the world’s largest issuer of VISA commercial cards, announced on April 27, 2000 that they will join forces to create a program to offer co-branded commercial charge cards to businesses and multinational corporations based in Canada and the United States. As part of the transaction, Royal Bank will sell its corporate and purchasing VISA Card business to U.S. Bancorp. Under a co-branding agreement, U.S. Bancorp will market corporate and purchasing cards through a dedicated sales force and through Royal Bank’s network of commercial and corporate banking account managers.

Royal Bank in-house counsel Sandra Jorgenson directed the transaction for Royal Bank and called on a team from McMillan Binch which included Ted Scott, Bruce McWilliam, Mark Opashinov (Competition), Susan Nickerson (Pensions), Darryl Hiscocks (Employment) and Jim Warnock (Commodity Tax). U.S. Bancorp in-house counsel Don Johnson directed the transaction for U.S. Bancorp and called on a Borden Ladner Gervais LLP team that included Libby Burnham Q.C., Simon Scott Q.C., Stephen Redican, Andrew Harrison, Jeff Graham, Larissa Tkachenko, Melany Franklin, Sonia Mak, Adam Fanaki and Maxine McCuaig Wilde.